“Can’t be as bad as what I’m thinking,” she replied.
Hawkins knew she wouldn’t give up. Her dogged persistence in all things was one of her attributes that he respected, but with which he often felt annoyed. Still, he’d learned that giving in right away kept things pleasant. “Okay, here’s my theory. Kam and Cahill had some kind of falling out. Best guess is that Kam somehow screwed up the computers by accident. When Cahill confronted him, he ran and ended up on deck. When Cahill followed into the storm, he was knocked overboard. Kam made it back inside and hid until the storm ended. Fearing discipline or even legal action because of Cahill’s death, Kam fled to the island. He wasn’t running from a shark, which is why he ran along the shoreline, rather than straight across it. He ran because he didn’t want to be seen. Concealed in the jungle, he slowed to a walk. Kam feels responsible for Cahill’s death, and possibly for screwing up the ship. That’s my best theory.”
Joliet sagged. “I came up with the same thing. Do you really think Kam would run? If it was an accident—”
“There is the possibility that it wasn’t an accident,” Hawkins said. “That their confrontation on deck ended in violence.”
Joliet’s eyes widened. “You think he murdered Cahill?”
“Not premeditated. But if they fought, and that’s what caused Cahill to fall overboard, it’s still manslaughter.”
Joliet shook her head. “I just can’t picture Kam doing something like that. He’s such a sweet kid, not to mention half the size of Cahill.”
“People do stupid things,” Hawkins replied, thinking of the drunk man who’d been gored by a bison after walking up to the sleeping giant and slapping its snout. “Was Cahill a drinker?” It was an awful thing to hope for, but he wanted Kam to be innocent, too.
“I’ve never seen him drink,” Joliet said. “Not even before we left.”
Captain Drake had taken the crew out to a restaurant the night before they’d left. Hawkins tried to remember that night now, but his own drinking fogged the memory. He did remember flirting with Joliet, and being shot down, but had no memory of Cahill imbibing.
“You didn’t drink that night, either, did you?” he asked.
“Nope, and I remember every word, story, and grope.”
Hawkins froze. He slowly turned to her. “I didn’t…?”
Joliet’s serious expression softened with a smile. “Don’t worry, Ranger. Wasn’t you.” She stood up, brushed off her shorts, and straightened her tight, blue T-shirt.
As she started up the trail again, he stood and gave chase. “Wait, who was it then? If it was Bray, I’m going to—”
Joliet stopped and raised an open palm in his direction. He fell silent and stood next to her. She pointed up the steep, jungle-covered hillside.
“I don’t see anything,” he whispered.
“Between the trees near the top,” she said. “There’s something gray.”
It took him a moment, but when he saw it, the flat gray surface stood out. “The hell?”
His hand went to his waist, feeling the handle of his hunting knife. Its presence put him at ease. “Let’s check it out.”
Following the path, they wound their way up the hillside. As they neared the top, the incline grew steeper and the path became a series of switchbacks. Hawkins didn’t like that they had to pass in front of the aberration several times. Something about it made him wary, and every pass left him feeling more exposed. Vulnerable.
But nothing happened. They followed the last path to the top where it wrapped around a stand of trees. Hawkins’s hand went to his knife again as they rounded the palms, but when he got his first look at what waited for them, he knew the weapon wasn’t needed.
Vines covered much of the gray concrete, but given its location at the top of the hill, Hawkins could see the structure for what it was. “It’s a pillbox.”
“A what?”
“Pillbox. From World War Two. The Japanese must have occupied this island.” Hawkins stepped through the open backside of the concrete octagon. A long, thin opening stretched across the side facing the hill. He looked out and could see patches of the path below. “Anyone advancing up the hillside would have had a hell of a time reaching the top without being cut to pieces by machine gun fire. They probably had a lot of the brush and trees cleared away back then.”
“If this island was occupied during the war,” Joliet said, “why isn’t it on any maps?”
“If the island was never discovered by the U.S., the Japanese stationed here probably just deserted and went home when the war ended.” Hawkins searched the small space for WWII relics, but found nothing. “Looks like they cleaned up shop when they left, too. They didn’t leave a thing behind.”